Shorouk Express
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The Royal Navy intercepted a Russian warship and a tanker off the coast of the United Kingdom.
HMS Severn, a patrol vessel, shadowed the RFN Stoikiy corvette and a tanker vessel in the past fortnight, the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.
The navy monitored the Russian movements as they sailed through the Dover Strait and west through the English Channel. The ministry did not say exactly when the interception happened.
HMS Severn later handed over monitoring duties to a NATO ally off the coast of Brittany, but continued to observe from a distance, the MoD said.
The ministry reported a 30 per cent increase in Russian vessels “threatening” UK waters in the past two years.
The announcement came just days after defence secretary John Healey said that a Russian spy ship was spotted on the edge of UK waters, where it pointed lasers at RAF pilots tracking it.
While tracking spy ship Yantar, a Royal Navy frigate and other civilian ships experienced GPS jamming, as has been recorded in warzones.
The frigate HMS Somerset’s combat capabilities were not affected, the MoD said.
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